Each new season brings a fresh crop of rookies buzzing to prove their worth in the big leagues. The injection of young blood provides the team a set of new skills to tap into as necessary, with this year being no exception. In the UAAP Season 87 Men’s Badminton Tournament, four rookies from the UP Badminton Varsity Team (UPBVT) — Ethan Dupet, Joshua Martinez, Mark Bernal, and Shan Clar — took to the court to help the Fighting Maroons earn a third straight bronze medal finish in as many seasons.
Clar, who also clinched a well-deserved Rookie of the Year award, opened his season with a decisive win, toppling UST’s John Vincent Espinoza, 23-21, 21-17, in UP’s first game of Season 87. He went on to repeat this feat in the bronze medal match, fending off UST’s Ivan Tuazon, 21-16, 21-9.
Ironically, Clar found his start holding a different racquet, playing table tennis in the early stages of his sporting career. Despite feeling that he was “led astray” into the sport, Clar has no regrets picking up badminton.
“Salamat sa badminton, I am what I am today,” he said in an interview. “Hinding-hindi ko mareregret ang pagsali sa sport na ito.”
Since making the switch, he has achieved multiple accolades in the sport, including a bronze in the 2023 Palarong Pambansa and a championship in the U19 category of the 2023 Juniors Regional Badminton Tournament, among others.
“Malaking tulong yung badminton sa akin,” Clar stated. “Andami kong natutunan na mga lessons, hindi lang sa badminton, [pero] pati mga life lessons.”
The pressure for a singles player can be overwhelming. Standing alone on the court with no one but your opponent in front of you can be a daunting task — doubly so for a novice. For Clar, however, that pressure became secondary, almost non-existent, when he remembered the amount of support he received from the sidelines.
“For me, iniisip ko siya na opportunity para mapakita ko yung capabilities ko at magkaroon ng learning experiences,” he said. “Iniisip ko lang nandyan palagi mga tao na sumusuporta sa akin at naniniwala na kaya ko [‘to].”
Like all athletes, Clar is a product of hard work and dedication. His path to victory might have had its share of trials and tribulations, but he feels that it all paid off in the end.
“Yung masasabi ko lang sa rookie year ko is [that] lahat ng challenges at hardships na naranasan ko ay worth it,” he expressed. “Dahil sa tiyaga at sipag sa araw-araw, [it] led me to blessings na dati [pinapangarap] ko lang.”
The cherry on top for Clar’s dream debut was being named Rookie of the Year, following in the footsteps of his senior, Jelo Albo, who received the title in Season 85.
On this achievement, Clar simply saw it as a dream come true. “Unang una sobrang saya ko para sa team at sa sarili ko,” he stated. “Dream ko talaga na makasali ng UAAP at makuha ang Rookie of the Year, at ngayon na nakuha ko ang podium finish at ROY, nakakaiyak kase lahat ng hirap at mga challenges simula nung bata pa ako ay nagbunga lahat.”
“Sobrang iba yung feeling sa UAAP compared sa ibang competition,” he added. “Parang nasa thoughts ko is [eto yung] pinakamalaking tournament sa Pilipinas at dati sa TV lang ako nanonood, tapos ngayon kasali na ako at [i-rerepresent ko] yung UP team.”
Fellow new addition to the team Ethan Dupet was equally ecstatic with the team’s podium finish.
“Masaya ako na nakapag-podium kami, lalo na sa first year ko as a rookie,” Dupet stated. “And, masaya ako kase nakapag contribute ako ng panalo sa team namin.”
Despite his short run in the season, Dupet showed great potential, avenging his loss against Season 86 MVP Lyrden Laborte of Ateneo in the team’s next match up, where he dominated Adamson’s Jhon Dema-ano, 21-14, 21-15.
Unsatisfied with his Season 87 run, Dupet’s sights are already set on what’s to come, hoping to improve his performance and promising to work harder on his game. “First of all, propromise ko sa sarili ko to do two times better and maybe [get] the gold naman next year.”
“Siguro, ano lang, yung pagsisi na di ko binigay yung full ko tuwing nagtra-training ganun,” he added. “Seeing how the other rookies played ngayong season, medyo nainggit lang ako kase they played so well and [inaasahan] po talaga sila ng team nila. Siguro next season, [I’ll] work [harder] lang.”
Improvement is also the goal for Joshua Martinez, who played only one full match for the team, partnering Jelo Albo but eventually succumbing to La Salle, 14-21, 18-21.
“I need to improve […] yung mga part kung saan ako nahihirapan, and I need more focus, determination, dedication,” Martinez noted. “Bale, mas kailangan ko pa magset ng goal sa sarili para mas makahelp ako sa team namin na makakuha ng championship next season.”
Despite having experience in other leagues prior to joining the Fighting Maroons, Martinez sees the UAAP as a novelty. “For me, mas nakaka excite ‘tong UAAP kasi eto talaga yung tournament na pinaghahandaan ng lahat ng professional athletes,” he said. “Iba yung pressure, yung saya, and yung privilege na makapaglaro dito.”
On the team’s bronze finish, Martinez is proud but adamant on more. “First of all, syempre as a rookie and it’s my first time here, syempre, it’s a big achievement. Even though hindi yun yung pinaka-goal [and] hindi yun yung nareach namin, [it’s] still a big achievement.”
Sharing his teammate’s sentiments was standout doubles player Mark Bernal, who, while happy, feels a slight regret over missing out on the gold.
“It feels euphoric because we secured a spot on the podium even though we are rookies palang, but may panghihinayang pa rin since we were aiming for the gold,” Bernal expressed. “Nevertheless, I am thankful and honored.”
Bernal first saw action with the Fighting Maroons in the 3rd Philippine Inter-Collegiate Badminton Championships, held on September 6-8, 2024, at the Centro Atletico Badminton Center in Cubao, Quezon City, where UP was able to overcome Ateneo and secure a three-peat championship.
While a good taste of what was to come, the UAAP proved to be an entirely different beast with its charged atmosphere and fierce competition, which Bernal found to be exhilarating.
“Sa UAAP, it’s both [pressuring] and exciting at the same time since it is the ‘main game,'” Bernal said. “Kumbaga, mas ‘hype’ yung feeling sa UAAP.”
With the exception of their Final Four matchup against Ateneo, Bernal and doubles partner Enzo Rivera remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. In just the rookie’s second game as a UP Fighting Maroon, Bernal and Rivera delivered a shocking upset against national team members Solomon Padiz Jr. and James Villarante of NU, 20-22, 21-11, and 23-21.
For Bernal, the game itself is immaterial. Whether it’s a bronze medal match or an elimination round, he tries not to let the pressure get to him. “From the first game up until [the] Finals, my mindset stayed the same.”
In their third place matchup against UST, Bernal and Rivera were the last players out on the rubber. True to his words, the nature of the game was irrelevant. Bernal stayed consistent and eventually scored the final point of the match, sweeping UST and securing the bronze for the team.
When defining that moment, Bernal kept it simple. ”One word that can describe that feeling is victorious.”
The rookie season is all about testing the waters and proving what you can do. But more importantly, it is also about finding your place on the team, facing new challenges, and improving along the way, which is exactly what Bernal, Clar, Martinez, and Dupet have set out to do.
“This is only our first year,” declared Bernal. “We have more years to train, we have more years to compete, and therefore many chances [of] getting that gold medal and maintaining our spot on the podium.”
This UP Fighting Maroons Club post is in partnership with Jiang Nan Hotpot.
